Tennis court marking



April 9,1940. BE 2,196,601

TENNIS COURT MARKING Filed Nov. 10, 1938 ALLEN BEHR INVENTOR.

BY gm fl Mew ATTORNEY.

um-rep; am-s PATENT oFF cE TENNIS ooURr MARKING Allen Behr, New York, N. Y.

Application November, 2 Claims.

My invention relates to {tennis court marking 'andhas particular reference to the marking of white lines on" tennis courts or. similar courts where games are playedn I l Tennis courtsmust have clearly visible white lines, which, however, rapidly wear out or become rubbed out or washed away by rain, and must be frequently renewed, such renewalbeing necessary every day if the courts are often used and it is desired to keep them in good condition.

To overcome this difiiculty, several types of socalled permanent marking havebeen introduced, all of which, however, have certain defects and undesirable properties.

ing usually consis Such permanent markts of a tape made of strong white fabric nailed to the surface of the court, or of metal strips or .channel bars fastened to the surface or even partly imbedded if. such strips have suitable flanges. such marking is that they represent a certain I The main difliculty with hazard in play, forming obstructions and catch-v ing the players feet, especially when the earth around or under the tapes or strips becomes partly worn out.

My invention has for its object therefore to provide a marking which willremain for a long time in good con dition, usually-for the whole season, and will not be readily worn out or washed away by rain. I accomplish this purpose by providing a special foundation for the marking in the form of slabs of a cementitious composition, imbedded in deep grooves in the court, the marking being painted on the surface of the slabs in white @111 paint which is waterproof and resists ordinary wear.

My invention is more fully described-in the ace.-

companying specification and drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a portion of a tennis court showing my marking.

Fig. 2 is a top pl an view of the same.

Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views of a modified form of marking.

A tennis, court is prepared-for my marking by plowing relatively deep grooves I, preferably wedge-shaped or V-shaped as shown in the upper special composition parts by weight mixed with one part of Portland cement or other suitable self-harde type used in the b of sand is .added prepared as follows: two of ordinary masons lime is ning cement,- preferably of the uilding industry. Three parts to the resultant mixture and 0, 1938, Serial No. 239,803 (or. 94- 15) enough water is added to obtain a slowly flowing thick mixture which is poured into the grooves to overflowing. The mass is smoothed down on top with a trowel flush with the surface of the court -2, allowing some of the material to spread out 5 at the sides 3. The resultant slabs 4 form a foundation for lines 5 applied with an ordinary oil paintor other paint, preferably of an indelible type impervious to water. The slabs must be thoroughly dry before the paint is applied. 10

The grooves may be made of any suitable shape such as rounded as shown at 6 in Fig. 3 or rectangular-as shown at in'Fig. 4. The composition may be spread out over the whole court in a thin layer 8, materially strengthening the sur- 1! face and rendering it rain-resistant. A beneficial effect is also obtained if the composition is merely sprayed over the court. The color of the com- 1 position closely approaches the color of an ordinary clay court. For court surfaces with red or 20 green sand, the mixture may be prepared with a correspondingly colored sand or suitable granular material.

I have experimented with various proportions of lime and cement and found that the best re- 25 1 block but form a porous pliable skeleton ren- 30 dered slightly plastic by the addition of hygroscopic limen The resultant slab has approximate- ,ly the same hardness as the rest of the court which is usually made of clay with a small adof more or less sharp wedges I which can be forced deeper into thesurface of the court when the latter is rolled so that the surface of the slab can'be maintained flush with the surface of the rest of the court. I I

Thev slab when, prepared as indicated above does not becomebrittle and does not crumble in dry weather, retaining a certain degree of elasticity. It is affected very little by the rain, especially .if its surface has been thoroughly 4.5 rubbed with a trowel when first poured in. It appears. that the surface under such treatment acquires a-firm, practically impervious layer, protecting the rest of the slab. The slab under such conditions lasts for the whole season of play and 50 mayonly occasionally require slight repairs as, for instance, after heavy rains, the repairs being made by the addition of a freshly prepared composition andtroweling' it on top. In the spring, when the court is being prepared for the season, 5

Y dition of sand. I prefer to make slabs in the form 35 the slab which may have been damaged by frost during the winter, is softened withwater and more composition is added for filling holes and cracks.

My composition has an important advantage that it firmly adheres to sand and clay of which the court is made so that the slab remains securely in its groove and cannot be washed out by rain, nor does it crack away during dry weather.

I have" also'found that very goodlresults are obtained when ordinary ashes from coal furnaces are added to my mixture. applied to the surface of the court must be trowled or scraped smooth, pressingdown' larger pieces and spreading the softer or more liquid composition over the top. Ashes are usually considerably cheaper than sand-"andthey-unite well with cement and lime, substantially strengthen ing the resultant layer or slab. Ashes ma fully replace the sand although I prefer to add ashes to the sands Agood mixture 'is'pbtained when one part by weight of ashes is added to two parts of sand, adding' it to two parts of the cementlime mixture.

The mixture when I claim as my invention:

1. A tennis court marking consisting of a continuous slab of a uniform cross-section placed in a corresponding groove in the surface portion of a tennis court, the slab being formed of a cementitious material containing an excess of lime so as to render the dried slab slightly softenable with water, the upper edge portions of the slab being expanded in relatively thin flangelike-portions adapted to vforma smooth transition betwee'n the body of thel'slab and Qthesurface of the court under different atmospheric conditions, the middle portion of the slab being covered with a paint impervious to water. 7

23 Atnnis" court marking consisting of a continuous slab of a uniform cross-section placed in a corresponding groove in the surface portion of a tenfiiscourt;the slab being formed of a cementitious material containing an excess of lime so as to'render the dried slab slightly softenable with water; the-middle portion :of the slab being covered with 'a paint impervious to water, the exposedvmarginal portions of the slab being merged with the surface of the court.

ALLEN BEHR. 

